In the EESC’s opinion, the member states of the EU must “rethink energy taxation” with a view to making it “uniform and smarter across Europe.” It suggested creating a common tax framework which would link the tax rate to the energy source and factor in carbon emissions.

“The burden of fees and value added tax for electricity ranges from 4.7% in the United Kingdom to 45.6% in Denmark, with no heed to the energy content of electricity produced,” said Pierre-Jean Coulon, rapporteur for the opinion.